Early reports show the beginnings of a large-scale migration occurring through Mexico as another wave of Central and Southern American refugees embark on the journey. The Associated Press estimates that the number of migrants in the caravan is around 4,000 as of Wednesday.
In the Mexican coastal state of Chiapas, the migrants marched onwards and picked up more and more people. So far, the caravan is on track to becoming the biggest since the pandemic began, although not yet rivaling the numbers of 2018 and 2019, AP writes.
The caravan had already passed a checkpoint in Southern Mexico, which screens for drugs and traffickers. The endpoint of their 2,500-mile trek appears to be Mexico City, where they will receive aid. However, not everyone in the caravan is stopping there but some are set on entering the United States via the Texas border.
“Tell Biden we are coming,” an El Salvador migrant named Willam told reporters.
The journey began on October 23rd, Yahoo News stated, somewhere near Tapachula. The Mexican National Guard set up a blockade only hours into the migrant caravan but was unsuccessful in stopping them, KXAN says. The group “broke down police barriers” and yelled “Libertad!” hoping for transportation assistance across the country.
The caravan rushes north to beat the installment of the new border policy in November. First put into place by Trump, the “Remain in Mexico” policy forces migrants to be processed inside Mexico before crossing.
Governor Abbott blames Biden for the lack of discipline at the border. He said on Twitter Monday that the Biden administration had been “AWOL” on recent border issues.
Abbott stated that Texas would take it upon itself to enforce border policies. Governor Abbott’s representative said, “Texas will continue surging state resources and stepping up in the federal government’s absence to secure our border and protect Texans.”